Shock absorbee



Oct. 3G, 1923. LAMAR@ g P. s. MORGAN s Hoc'K ABsoRBER Filed Oct. 27. 1921 2 Sheet-sfSheet l lili ....HHIIHIIU'Il j 31a/wwwa ct. 30, 1923. v ivd-729420 P. S. MORGAN SHOCK ABSORBER Filed Oct. 27. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Cict. 30, i923.

UNITED STATES 'PATENT FFICE.

PORTER S. MORGAN, OIF NORVJALE, CONNECTICUT.

SHOCK ABSORBIER.

Application ledOctober 27, 1921.

To all whom t may cmi/ocra:

Be it known that l. Ponrnn S. Moreau, a citizen olii the United States, and resident oi` Norwalk, inthe county oi Fairfield and State of '-QonnectiCut, have invented certain new and useful lmproven'ients in. Shock Absorliiers, of which the following' is a specification.

'llhe present invention relates to inruarovements in shock absorbers, that is to say to vdevices for modifying or controllingr the action ot the supporting springs of ve=- hicles. The invention pertains more particnlarly to that type oi* shock absorbers in which the action oi1V the vehicle springs is retarded by a cushioning iluid. preferably a liquid, or, in other Words, the invention has reference to hydraulic shoilr absorlw infr mechanism.

Devices of this type usually comprise a closed casing, in the torni ci a. cylinder, in which a piston, actingM upon-liquid, is reciprocably arranged, the casing being mounted upon one of the relatively movable elements of .the vehicle and the piston rod being attached to the other one of said elements. Serious diiliculties have been experienced Vwith these devices mainly i'or the reason that, the reciprocating piston rod Wears out the stuiiing boX or bones oit the device and also because of the fact that the device has an inherent inertia, due to thev weight of the piston and its rod. Other ditiiculties are due to the fact that in these devices the stroke ot the piston corresponds to the relative travel between the vehicle body and the running gear and, as there is practically a. continuous relative movement between these elements, the piston is apt to Wear out the cylinder Wall, thereby causing` alealragee of the fluid in the cylinder.

'lhe mam object ot the present invention is to overcome the diiliculties mentioned, in

that it provides a. shock absorber whichV Serial No. 510,888.

A A further object of thc invention. is to insert a syscem of levers between the spindle and one oit the relatively movable elements of the device, wher by the stroke of the piston is considerably smaller than the extent or" the relative movement between the vehicle elements. y A. still further object of the invention is to so arrange the piston and combine vthe same with the other elements ot the device that the latter has no inherent inertia, the result being that the shock absorber is more sensitive in its action. i

Another object of the invention is to so construct the shock absorber that it modiiies and controls the action of the vehicle springs both in the direction in which they move in taking up the shock incident to meeting` an obstruction in the road and on their rebound. rllie invention is not limited, however, to this type of device, such devices' as permit the free yielding;- ot' the springs under compressive stresses but modity their action on their rebound coming1 Within the purview of the invention as de fined in the appended claims.

A further object of theinvention is lto so construct the shoclr absorber that its retard- Ying action may be varied at will Without disassemblingV the elements thereof.

A still further object oit the invention is to `provide a shock absorber which is eX` tremely simple in construction, efficient in operation, and one which is capable of manuiacture on a comi'uercial scale, or in other Words .one which is not so Idiiiicult to construct as to be beyond the reasonable `cost of such a contrivance. y

With `these and other objects in view, which Will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts Vhereinaiter described, pointed out in the appendedclaims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the Size and proportion of the severa-l parts and details ofv construction Within the scope of the appended claims, Without departing from the spirit or sacritlcing any of the advantages of the invention.

sorber constructed in accordance with the present invention, the same being shown mounted upon a vehicle; Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Von a larger scale; F ig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the spindle, associated with the piston; and Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. n

In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a cylinder, which is bolted or otherwise attached to the body portion 11 of the vehicle. The cylinder is closed by a head 12, which is held in. place by means of screw bolts 13, having heads 14. Between these heads and the cylinder head are interposed washers 15, for the well known'purpose, the bolts extending through the cylinder head in parallel relation to the longitudinal -axis of the cylinder and beingscrewed into the bottom of the latter, as shown at 16. A screw-threaded spindle 17 is centrally and rotatably mounted in the cylinder, it extending through a stufling box 18 on the cylinder head and being provided outside of the cylinder with a polygonal portion 19, that is, preferably, tapered.A as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The spindle is provided on that portion, which is-disposed within the cylinder, with a multiple Vscrewthread 2O of any suitable configuration, and

with these threads mesh threads 21 in the central bore of a piston 22 within the cylinder. This piston is provided with apertures 23, throughA which extend the bolts 13 above referred to, guiding the piston in its reciprocating movement. vided with a longitudinal bore 24 `(Fig. 3), communicating with radial channels 25 adjacent bothends of the screw-threaded portions of. said spindle. In the inner face of the head 12 are provided two annular grooves, denoted by the numerals 26 and 27, said grooves surrounding the spindle and having seated therein washers 28 and 29, respectively, which contact with the said spindle. The washer 29 is, preferably, made of metal, while the washer 28 is made ofV suitable packing material, such as leather,

its exposed face being flush with the inner face of the head 12.

Over the polygonal end 19 of the spindle is fitted a lever 30, kept in place by a nut 31, which meshes with threads 32k on the outer end of the spindle. This lever is pivoted Yat 33 to one end of a rigid link 34, the other end of which is fulcrumed at 35 to a clip 36, the latter being attached to the running gear 37 of the vehicle and serving at the same time to keep the main springs 37 of the vehicle in position.

.The outer end of the kbore 24 in thespindle i 17 is screw`threaded,as shown at 38, and with these threads mesh those of a plug 39,

which is adapted to regulate the channels adjacent the head 12.

The spindle is pro-Y The operation of this deviceisras follows:

In 'the normal 'positions vof the springs 37 of the vehicle, the lever 30 extends substantially horizontally and the link 34 substantially vertically, the piston 22 being in its central position in the cylinder, as clearly shown in 2 of the drawings. The piston 'divides thus thecylinder into two compartir ents, which are wholly filled with a suitable 1luid, such as oil,V the two compartments comn'iunicating through the channels 25 the bore 24.` Upon relative movement between the vehicle body and the runni gear, the spindle 17 is given a partial turn, which results in a. linear movement of the piston 22 inthe corresponding direction. This linear movement is retarded by the incompressible fluid in the or jars occur on the road, the piston will not travel so far that it Vwould cover the channels 25. l/Vhen, however, an excessive shock occurs, the piston will partly or wholly cover one set of channels and thereby greatly retard the action of the springs at the end of theirl compression stroke, retarding and checking effectively an excessive rebound, as the channels are closed and thev vliquid can move from one compartment toV the other one by leakage only. In this manner discomfort to those riding in the vehicle and possible damage to the springs is effectively prevented. y

As above stated, the channels adjacent the head may be varied in size by the plug 39 for the purpose of controlling the fiow ot the fluid in the cylinder and thereby cimnging. at will. the resistance to the movement of 'the piston. As the change may be made without disassembling the elements of the shock absorber, it may be effected quickly according to the requirements.

Attention is called to the fact that the fluid under pressure in the cylinder has a tendency to force the packing washers 28 and 29 against the cylinder head, thereby effectively preventing a leakage of fluid` from the cylinder. In the devices hereto-v fore in use the fluid under pressure usually has a tendency to blow thepacking out of its place. In the present construction the liquid can hardly reach the packing in the stufiing box at all, it being prevented from doing so by the said washers.

It is to be observed that in the device herein described the piston has no inherent inertia, as it is comparatively light and does not move freely in the cylinder. The result is that the shock absorbers are balanced and their action is entirely independent of the momenilzum of the elements thereof.

lt is obvious that, while herein the cylinder of the shock absorbing device has been shown as mounted on the vehicle body and the link 34C connected with the running gear, the positions of these elements may be reversed without departing from the invention.

lt is to be noted also that the shook absorber herein described is applicable generally tri-structures where relatively movable spring-actuated elements are used, or in other words the application of the device is not limited to motor vehicles only.

W hat l claim is L ln a device oi? the character described, the combination with two members oi a, vehicle adapted to move toward and from each other, of a shock absorber therebetween, said shock absorber comprising a closed cylinder xed against movement to one of said members, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder capable of dividingthe saine into two communicating {luidlilled compartments, means within said cylinder for preventing rotation ofsaid piston relative to said cylinder, an oscillating spindle mounted in said cylinder, a lever syst-m connected to said spindle and the other one of said vehicle members, and a gearing for translating the oscillating movement or said spindle into linear movement of said piston.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with two members of a vehicle adapted to move toward and from each other, oi? a shock absorber therebetween, said shook absorber comprising a closed cylinder fixed against movement to one of said members, a piston reciproeably mounted in said cylinder capable of dividing the same into two communicating Huid-filled compartments, means within said cylinder for preventing rotation of said piston relative to said cylinder, an oscillating spindle mounted in said cylinder, a lever system connected to said spindle and the other one of said vehicle members, and a screw-threaded connection between said spindle and piston for translating the oscillating movement of the fermer into linear movement of the latter.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 22nd day of October, A. D. 1921.

PORTER S. MORGAN. 

